In Monteverdi's madrigals from Book 7, Schein's Israelsbrünnlein, or Bach's motet Jesu Meine Freude, the illustration of emotions through musical figures and basso continuo is omnipresent. This polyphony creates a powerful combination of sung words and emotions translated into notes and rhythms. If a word resonates with us in a unique way when it does not need to be translated, how does a musical figure affect us? And when it is in a foreign language?

The treatises codified musical figures, and the composers mentioned are experts in the field. This exploration will allow us to see how each one organises emotions according to the grammar of their mother tongue. Whether we are expatriates, adoptees, dual nationals or simply lovers of languages, we will ask ourselves how we feel the music of words.

This programme does more than just answer that question; it offers an immersion into music where words resonate on their own. For the composers, the words vibrated, guided by their maternal instinct and figuralist rationality, creating a musical experience that was as profound as it was intuitive.

Madri(é)gale explores the idea of the unique resonance of words in their original language and how musical figures affect the listener, even when the language is foreign. Reflecting on the influence and links between mother tongue and musical codes is fascinating and rich in implications. It allows us to listen to, hear and understand the musical literature of Seconda Prattica from a perspective of otherness.